Kerry football legends Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper and James O’Donoghue joined Thursday’s OTB:AM to give a masterclass on forward play as the pair discussed on pitch chemistry, their favourite goals and how they think Kerry will fare in this season’s Championship.
The pair did not play in the same forward line on too many occasions but O’Donoghue shared what he learned from lining up alongside one of Gaelic football’s all-time greats.
“I think I learned more from Colm when he was outside and I was inside,” O’Donoghue told OTB.
“A lot of inside forward play is about how you’ve built up a relationship with the guy who’s going to be feeding it to you because you’re almost entirely dependent on someone else when you’re playing the inside line.
“It’s all about how you’re on the same wavelength as someone else - especially if they dictate it – it can make it so much easier. The better they are - the easier it is for you.
“You talk about making runs but sometimes the outside player is so good, you nearly don’t have to move. One step or two steps to the side and you’re free.”
Cooper, who called time on his career in April 2017, touched on the importance of being almost telepathic with your fellow forward.
“In any forward line it’s about chemistry,” Cooper said.
“You have it with some guys and you find it takes longer with other guys and then you mightn’t have any with some people. But you learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses as well.
“Decisions have to be done within two seconds because you don’t have five seconds to point where you want to go. That’s what separates the great players and great partnerships.”
The subtlety of a top player can make the difference between scoring an All-Ireland winning point or an opposition player reading his rival’s intentions.
And O’Donoghue emphasised the importance of being one step ahead of the opposition team.
“Once you catch eyes; you can almost tell the other guy what to do,”
“You talk about communication and saying things to each other. Literally, if one fellow lifts his eyebrows at you – you know what’s on.
“You can’t really buy that chemistry.”
James Hopper
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